Bunker Chronicles
by thelastsarahbender
Summary: While getting ready to destroy the bunker, Ella finds an old video.


Will nosed the small boat into the cove. Sleek and dark, the rented vessel was built for speed. As they neared the wooden post, Cole looped a mooring line around it. Will cut the motor. Ella climbed over the side and into the water.

"Where's the entrance, Will?" she asked. The week before, Will had found the Virals' bunker using Chance's files, but Ella had yet to see it.

Will splashed down beside her, carrying two cans of gasoline. "Follow me." He jogged up the small bay. Ella trotted behind him, with Cole bringing up the rear. After rounding the hill, Will stopped, pointing. "There."

Ella was confused for a moment, seeing nothing but scrubs, then she glimpsed a dark spot. "Oh, wow." She crouched, looking through the tiny opening. Even flaring, she couldn't see a thing. "How on earth did they find this place?"

"Who cares?" Cole said, grinning. "Not gonna be around much longer."

"Let's go." Will dropped to his hands and knees and crawled inside. When his boots disappeared, Ella took a deep breath and followed him.

After worming forward for a few yards and passing over a large bump, she was out of the tunnel and in the fort.

"Holy crap." Ella spun around, taking in the chamber. "How'd they afford all this stuff?" The "stuff" included a high-tech computer station, a mini-fridge, carpeting, drafting table, and lamps. Even more impressive was the back room. Chock-full of hardware.

"Dunno," Will said with a shrug. "But something tells me they won't be able to replace everything. They have a solar generator outside. Those babies are expensive." He handed Cole a can of gasoline. "Start dousing this room. I'll cover the front."

"Can I check out their computer?" Ella asked.

"Why?"

Ella shrugged. "Could be something useful on there."

"Okay, sure. I'm guessing to need me to crack the password?" Will wasn't really asking. He was a great hacker, and Ella's computer skills were nonexistent.

After a minute of tapping at the keyboard, Will got in, then offered the chair to Ella. "Have at it."

"Thanks." Ella sat and peered at the desktop, looking for anything of interest. There were tons of programs, but Ella doubted that she had time to to even read the whole list. So she clicked at random, and ended up on VIDEOS. Only one was there, so she selected it.

Hiram Stolowitski's face appeared, frowning at something over the camera. He was sitting in the same computer chair, afternoon sunlight pouring through the window behind him. _"Why isn't this - oh!"_ He finally noticed that the webcam was on. _"Guys, it's working!"_ Ella flinched at how loud he was, turning the volume down. Did he not have an indoor voice?

 _"Awesome,"_ someone said off-screen. Though she'd only met him a few times, and he hardly ever talked, Ella recognized the voice - Ben Blue. _"Now try doing something helpful."_

Hi turned to address him. _"I am being helpful. I'm preserving our legacy for posterity. You could show this to your kids one day."_

 _"Do the world a favor and don't have kids. One of you is enough,"_ a third speaker cracked. Shelton Devers.

 _"Please. The world needs more Hiram. Anyway,"_ Hi faced the camera, _"I'm gonna start this by talking about how we found our clubhouse. Once upon a time, I was attacked with a Frisbee."_ Hi held up a blue disc.

 _"'Once upon a time?' Seriously?"_ Ben said.

 _"Wait, you kept that thing?"_ Shelton asked incredulously.

 _"I know, right?"_ Hi replied, sounding self-congratulatory. _"Even I'm impressed. But I digress. After being attacked, and regaining consciousness, I sought revenge. Of course, my aim is perfect-"_

 _"Say what?"_ Shelton.

 _"Since when?"_ Ben.

 _"Could you repeat that? I don't think I heard you correctly."_ Tory. They were all inside the bunker, apparently.

 _"Stop interrupting me! As I was saying, my aim is flawless, but as I threw it, a strong wind came off of the water, carrying the Frisbee over the meadow and into the hills. As luck would have it, it landed directly over the entrance to this here room. As I am an intrepid explorer, I immediately entered the tunnel and-"_

 _"Excuse me?"_ Tory sounded indignant.

Hi sighed. _"Okay, okay. Tory went down, because she is certifiably insane. Once we knew that it was safe, we followed."_

"Whatcha watching?" Will asked, making Ella jump.

"They made a video about how they found the bunker," she explained. Hi was now saying something about the Civil War. "They lost a Frisbee and found it next to the entrance."

Will grunted, red eyes fixed on the screen. "Man, that kid is annoying." He plunked a can next to Ella. "Douse the computer when you're done. And hurry up. We don't want the island brats catching us in here."

"The agents might have 'em by now," Cole called from the back room.

Will shook his head. "Tory and Blue got away for sure. But the other three were still on the island. For all we know, Claybourne's still in that hole."

"Do you think they got caught on the water?" Ella asked. "Those spooks had a boat. I heard it."

Will shook his head. "Blue's boat isn't that big. If they're smart, they'll stick close to the island or dock it."

"They're not really geniuses," Cole pointed out. "We've caught them twice."

Will shrugged. "Whatever. Doesn't matter either way." He picked the gasoline. "I'm gonna pour this on some shrubs around the entrance, just to be thorough." He crawled out and was gone.

Ella tuned back into the video, where Hi was saying, _"So, we found like a bajillion dollars worth of treasure, but Tory forced us to give it all to LIRI-"_

 _"Did you want to move?"_ Tory called, still off-screen.

Ella's brow knitted. She had heard her parents discussing LIRI last summer, talking about how Kit Howard had found buried treasure and saved the Institute. Ella had asked Tory about that when they became friends, but had gotten a vague answer. Had she been the one to find the treasure?

Hi ignored Tory. _"B_ _ut we kept some of the dough, which is how we're funding our renovations. Like this kick-ass computer. And some other stuff. It's dope."_ Hi reached for the computer and began to turn it. _"Take a look."_

The camera panned to Tory, who had a pained look on her face. She was kneeling on the floor, unrolling the carpet. She was wearing a blue tank top and tan shorts, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. _"Are you sure you can move the computer like that? If it breaks, I'm feeding you to Cooper."_

 _"Yeah, it's fine, see? Anyway, this is Tory Brennan. She's a huge nerd, but we keep her around because we like her dog."_ As if on cue, Cooper bounded in, barking.

 _"Down, boy!"_ Tory ordered. After receiving several head-pats, Coop turned in a circle and laid down.

 _"That's the dog,"_ Hi went on. _"Cooper. When we found him, he was hella sick, but we nursed him back to health in this here bunker."_

The camera then swiveled to face the back room. Shelton was visible beyond the doorway, fiddling with some wires while reading an instruction manual. _"And that's Shelton Devers. Say hi to the camera, Shelton."_

 _"Hi to the camera,"_ Shelton said, eyes on the manual.

 _"Wow, you're cool. Anyway, he's the only one who knows what all that stuff does, which is kinda scary because he could probably blow us all up."_

Shelton grinned. _"True."_

 _"Can you blow up the bunker just to get Hi to stop talking?"_ Tory asked.

 _"On it,"_ Shelton said.

 _"Do it fast,"_ Ben requested. _"I don't know how much more of this I can take."_

 _"And that's Ben Blue."_ Hi turned the computer again. Ben was sanding the bench, which looked much rougher than the current model. He was also shirtless. Ella was completely fine with that.

Hi wasn't, apparently. _"Hey, since you're not using it, can we use your shirt to make a bunker flag? I think it'll really help the feng shui in here."_

 _"Huh, let me think about it - no."_

 _"Then can you put it back on?"_

 _"Same answer."_

Hi huffed, but let it go. _"So yeah, that's all of us. Wait, am I forgetting anybody?"_

Tory, now back on camera, rolled her eyes. _"There's only five of us, genius. Ben, can you lift that side of the-? Thanks. We're all carpeted now. What's left?"_

 _"The mineshaft,"_ Ben answered. _"And that's gonna take a while to do. Probably shouldn't start today."_

 _"Can we make Hi do it?"_ Shelton called from the other room. _"Serves him right for slacking."_

 _"Slacking?"_ Hi scoffed. _"I'm supervising. Also, I'm recording a video."_

 _"Can you wrap it up?"_ Tory asked. _"There's more work to do."_

 _"Give me a minute,"_ Hi said huffily. _"You can't rush perfection."_ He turned the camera back to his face. _"So, yeah, we became super best friends with Tory in this bunker. I'll admit it."_ Several _awwww's,_ all sarcastic, were sounded. " _And a crapload of stuff has happened since, but most of it is top-secret, so I'm keeping my mouth shut."_

 _"Can you do that forever?"_ Ben asked.

 _"Thanks, Ben. Feeling the love. So, I'm thinking that I should thank all of the people who have led to our being here today. First, I'd like to thank the curator of the Charleston Museum for not pressing charges for borrowing their map. Also, the CPD for not pressing charges, period. But I'm not thanking Corcoran, because he's a douchebag."_

Somebody applauded off-screen. Ella agreed with that particular sentiment. Hi winked at them, then went on. _"I'd also like to thank our parents, for being so delightfully gullible. And so forgiving. And a special shoutout to Kit Howard for letting us borrow his car."_

 _"Without permission,"_ Shelton clarified.

Hi waved a hand. _"Details. Anyway, a huge thank you to Anne Bonny. You may have been a hot-tempered, murdering lady pirate, but you left us some very nice treasure. And, what the hell, thanks to the Irish too, for making such a valuable church magazine. We owe you one."_ Hi raised a finger. _"One complaint, though. You eventually spawned Tory."_

 _"Hey!"_

 _"It's true,"_ Hi said, mock-defensive. _"And - oh yeah, I should probably thank you guys too."_

 _"Probably?"_ Tory said. _"Try definitely."_

Hi sighed. _"So, Ben was the one who attacked me with the Frisbee in the first place, so this might not have happened without him. Also, when I threw it I was aiming at him."_

 _"You're welcome."_

 _"And, um, Shelton knew where the bunker came from, which is pretty cool. I mean, you also tried to keep us from coming down here, but I won't hold that against you. Nice work, buddy."_

 _"Thanks, man."_

 _"And Tory was the one who made us look for the Frisbee. Well, she dared Ben to do it, but it's kinda the same thing, so yeah. And she was the only one crazy enough to crawl into the hole. Good job, Tor. You're lucky nothing ate you."_

 _"Gee, thanks."_

 _"And last but not definitely least, I'd like to thank myself."_

 _"Objection,"_ Shelton interrupted. _"Recent studies have shown that you are actually the least."_

 _"Leave me alone,"_ Hi said. _"I'm going to thank myself because I was the one who threw the Frisbee. And found it again. You guys are welcome."_ Hi slapped his hands together. _"And I think that's it! So- wait. Did I ever make a title for this?"_

 _"It doesn't deserve one,"_ Shelton answered.

Hi rubbed his chin. _"Um, how about the Bunker Chronicles?"_

 _"How about the Dork Chronicles?"_ Ben countered.

 _"How about the Nerd Chronicles?"_ Shelton offered.

 _"How about the Annoying Chronicles?"_

 _"How about the Stop-Already Chronicles?"_

 _"How about the Get-A-Life Chronicles?"_

 _"Yeah, I think I'm gonna use the Bunker Chronicles,"_ Hi decided. _"Good suggestions, though. Lots of creativity. Original, too."_

Ben groaned. _"Does 'Chronicles' mean you're making more of these?"_

 _"Never say never, Blue. That's it for this episode, kids. Sayonara!"_ Hi's grinning face blipped from the screen.

Ella closed down the computer, thoughts awhirl. So this was where they became friends with Tory? This was where they nursed a puppy back to health? This was where they planned all of their exploits?

Will came back in and handed her the gasoline. He said something to her, but she wasn't listening. She poured the can out over the computer, coating the screen, keyboard, and monitor.

When she was done, Ella set down the can and climbed onto the bench, careful not to lose her balance. The seat was now covered in the fire-starter, but she wanted to see the view.

Ella wasn't disappointed. She could see across the harbor into the city, lit up and glowing against the dark blue sky. It looked beautiful, like all bright things in the dark. It looked inviting. It looked like home.

Ella tried to imagine what the view looked like during the day, with the ocean blue and alive, not flat and inky black. The Virals must have been excited when they found it. A view like that was as good as any treasure. Not to mention that they found each other. Became 'super best friends'.

 _Why are we destroying their bunker?_

Before Ella could follow that dangerous train of thought, Will's voice snapped her back to reality. "It's time." He pulled a lighter from his pocket. "You two get out and get the boat ready. Whistle when you're clear. I'll be right behind you."

Cole nodded. "Good luck, dude." He slapped Will a high-five, then hurried through the tunnel. Ella followed, feeling distracted as she picked her way down the small beach. Then she lost her train of thought when Cole stuck two fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle.

A minute later, Will came racing down the sand. As he hopped onto the vessel and stuck the keys in the ignition, Ella caught a whiff of smoke. "You all right?"

"Fine," he panted. "But that's one hell of a fire."

Will reversed the boat. As they backed out of the cove, Ella began to hear the crackling of the fire. The smoky smell got stronger, then weakened as they motored away, rounding Morris. They were headed back to Charleston. Back home. Cole and Will were squatting on the _U.S.S. Yorktown_ , but Ella was staying at her house. Didn't want to put her parents through another disappearance. Her mother always looked worried now, as if she was afraid that Ella would vanish into thin air.

Before they rounded the tip of the island, Ella heard the _put-put-put_ of another boat out on the water.


End file.
